Felting needle



Aug. 24, W43. E. P. FOSTER 2,327,416

EEL'IING NEEDLE v 7 Filed Oct. 12, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

Aug. 24, 1943. FOSTER 2,327,416

FELTING NEEDLE Filed Oct. 12, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

Patented Aug. 24, 1943 :umrren STATES. PATENT to 2,327,416 7' I '1 a V VFELrmGYNEEDIQE o Edson P.-Foster, Manitowoc, Wis Aop lication October -12, 1942; Serial-No. 461,704 a I is Claims. 01. 28-4) v The presentinvention relates: to an improvement felting?needlesv and, further; hastodo with a-method'and apparatusfor providingbarbs ors-purs-in feltingneedle stock.

' Felting-machines are Well known and are employed iormatting andc'ompactingi loose fibrous nmterialasuch as wool, hair and fur oracorn;-

bination of these or other hanalogous materials. It is the general'practice. in the. art to deliverthe flbrods-material-to be oompactedlupona slow- 1y moving endless belt conveyor above which a twoparteneedle plate, having alarge-number of the edge of the needle andarerapidly worn away feltingneedles securecbtherein,.is disposedl This Yplate ismounted for rapid vertical i'eciprocatqry movement, above theconveyor belt. ;The fel'ti n g needles :reierred to have barbs entirebody or; tion thereof, "which upondownward movementgof V the plate withrespect-to the conveyor engagethe fibers of i the: material and,functionto interlace the-fibers together; These barbs areso formed as:to free themselves lof hthe material upon upwardumcvement of the plate.:Upon continued repetition of" the upward and downward moveg ment ofthe-:platethefibrous material is compact-ed and interlaced to form amat; Machines oflthe' type reierredjto maybe suitably designed so thatany desired: degree of 1 compacting and niatting oi 'suchfibrousmaterial, withinlimits, maybeattained. Y o

Generallythe'needle plates for supporti-ngthe felting needles comprise abase member and a superimposed clamping member. Thebase memher isprovided with a suitable number of apex tures through which thefneedlesare inserted. The needies'are provided with securing elements whichare'adapted to seat upon the top surface of the baseInerrrber; Theclamping member and base memberare then bolted 501" otherwise secur d'tegetherrigidly clamping between them the secnringT=elements at theupper endsof the needle;

shanks is oil-din the at to provide thel body portion of a lieltingneedle with barbs by striking the edges of the body portion with abarbing die at spaced intervals \therealong' to form barbs w 'ichpretzrude outward therebeyond; In mounting felting needles ofthis iormrt-he apertdres in the base member oi the needle plate must be ofsufiicient diameter to permit passage :there throughcof :the protrudingbarbs'zan'd since it :is desirable: to :have the shank of the needle fittightly in mhe base :member, the needle must be madeirom aa iblank ofround :stock .the body ;por tionmf which :is zswaged to provide-thezedges in ".therbarbs are :iormed and leavinsfiihe the needle andshank of the needle cylindrical so tl 1at it may be snugly'received inthe; aperture of; the base plate. This form of needle is objectionablesince the swaging operationoi the prio r artweakened a q' dds mat rallytte hems of production which is an important gonsidera= 9 n this at, Also; t ar ot ude be ond These slots have been of two forms the firstof whichand the earliest in the art was of ill-shape, and-the second andlater form being defined by a slot having upper and lower substar tig illy-p are-' allel walls which areeonnected by an endfwall substantiallyperpendicular to the upper wall.

However, both of these needles are objectionable in that byrslotting;the body-t9 iQrm-the spurs the needle is considerably weakened since aportion of the metal is removed in; the cutting operation Asubstantially reducing the cross-sectional area through the slots.Further nore, by forming; the spur in either mannerthe. working surfaceis of triangulah configuration One corner of i which forms thegpoi-nt ofthe spurrw-iththe working surface-extending inwardly and upwardly intothe bodyof the needle.- With this form of spur the fibers have atendency to-ereep to; the point ofrthe spurand interlaced. m

It is an object of my present haventionto pro vide a felting needle inwhich the spurs-do not extend beyond the-periphery of-the, body oi" theneedle" andwhich is formed by displacing mar terial in the bod-y of theneedle to provide for increased mechanical strength.

It is aiurtherobiect to provide a. felting needle having a spur formedby downwardly and angue I lady ine ih d l ri c s h, in en e to f rm aarm ed ext nd ng i ward y Q t e needle above a recess providing accessfor the material to the spur; Preferably, the :spur and recess areformed by displacing material which is disposed adjacent the recess sothat the cross-sectional area through the recess is substantiallyequals-to the crossesectional area-of thestock. Still more specifically,if desired, material abovethe spur may be=displacedso that a portionofthe working edge will be ofgarcuatel confignration with the ou ermost7, nd thereof :dir t sdqw a d v and inward y ofjthelbody. h e d e slipoff so that they will not be form of felting machine I,

forming a felting needle with spurs of the character above referred to.

A further preferred specific feature of my invention resides in theprovision of a cylindrical sleeve member which is adapted to be carriedby the base of the needle plate to receive a felting needle of uniformpolygonal cross-section throughout its length, the sleeve being providedto engage the edges of the shank portion of the needle to preventlateral displacement thereof and greatly reducing breakage in operation.

willappear from the detail description.

Now, in order to art with the manner of utili'zingmy invention 1 shalldescribe in conjunction with the accom panying'drawings certainpreferred embodimentsof the invention.

Inthe drawings;

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side view or a known form of felting machine,illustrative of the use of the needle of my invention;

Figure 2 is an elevational view of a needle of my invention mounted in asleeve needle plate of a felting machine, the sleeve be} acquaint thoseskilled in the 7 secured in the ing shown in section, and the needleplate being 1 shown fragmentarily andin section;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 3-3 of Figure 2and looking in the direction of the arrows, on an enlarged scale;

' tion of the body portionof Figure 4 is agreatly enlarged partialelevational view of the body portion of one form of my improved needle;

Figure 5 is a greatly enlarged partial elevational view of the bodyportion of another form of my improved needle; V

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic side view of an apparatus for making theneedles of my inventicn; and I Figure '7 is a detail sectional view'on areduced scale'taken on line ll-l of Figure 4; and

Figure 8 is a detail sectional view on a reduced scale taken on line'8-8of Figure 4.

Referring now to the drawings, I have illustrated diagrammatically inFigure 1 a known in which the needle of my inventionmay be used. Loosefibrous material such as wool, fur, hair or-the like is indicated at 2and is fed by means of 'a suitable chute 3 onto anendless belt conveyor4-, which is trained over apair of wheels 5 mounted for rotation onshafts 6. one of which may be driven in any suitable manner. 1 r

A two-part needle plate "l reciprocated in any suitable known manner, isdisposed above the conveyor belt Felting needles 8 are suitably fixed inthe needle plate and serve to compact and interlace the fibrous material2 up'on the upper-run of belt 4, in the reciprocation of the needleplate, as previously stated. A second conveyor 9, which'may be similarto the conveyor; L -receives the matted material and conveys it awayfrom the conveyor 4. I In Figure 2 I have showna felting needle I0embodying myjinvention mounted in the needle plate I of; a feltingmachine. This'plate comprises a basemeniber H and a clamping member l2.The base apertured to receive a cylin drical sleeve l3, one for eachfelting needle, which sleeve is provided with a flanged end which restsupon the upper surface of the base membase member ll may be countersunkto receive the flange of sleeve 13. The needle of my inventionpreferably is formed of a piece of stock of substantially uniform squarecross-section.

It will be understood, however, that stock of other cross sectionalconfiguration is contemplated within the broader aspects of myinvention. Needle it: comprises a body portion [4 and a shank portion55. The lower end of body M is pointed at is to facilitate penetrationof the fibrous material. The upper portion of shank l5 may be bent atsubstantially right angles providing a securing element i? adapted to beclamped be- I tween clamping member l2 and base member ll Other objectsand advantages of my invention ofithe needle plate and in engagementwith the flange of the cylindrical sleeve l3. The inner diameter of thecylindrical sleeve 13 is such that the needles Ill fit tightlythereinwith the corner edges thereof in engagement with the inner surface ofthe sleeve. The needles are thus rigidly held in the sleeve carried andthis sleeve is of a plate of thefelting machine and effectively aids inpreventing breakage of the needles. However, it will bel'understood thatthe-novel form of felting needles hereinafter to be described may bemounted in the needle plate in any other suitable and known manner.

Referring now to Figure 4, in' which a porone form of needle of myresent invention is shown on a greatly enlarged scale; it will be seenthat at intervals along the edges lii defined by intersections ofadjacent-side surfaces I9 of the needle, I provide spurs 2d. These spursare formed by means of suitable dies and comprise substantiallytriangular surfacesZI extending inwardly of two adja-. cent side walls'lB'fOImiHg a corner edge l8. which triangular, surfaces extenddownwardly and angularly so that the bases of the triangular cation ofthe needle I extending inwardly of the body of the needle from a cornerl8 thereof. The die referred to also displaces metal below the spurs 29to form a recess 23 and the material displaced in forming the spur andthe recess 23forms rounded protrusionsfd in the adjacent side walls.These protrusions in eflect form integral flanges whichmaterially'increase the strength of the needle and the displaced metalis'caused to flow into the portions of the body of the needle adjacentthe'recesses so that the cross-sectional area through the recess issubstantially equal to the cross-sectional area of the stock from whichthe needle is made. 'It will be observed that a distinguishingcharacteristic or this form of spur is that the point of the spur doesnot extend beyond the corner edges l8, and the entire working portion ofthe spur comprises an edge 22 which effectively retains the fibers to beinterlacedthereon eliminating any tendency of the fibers to creep towardthe outer point of the spur.

In Figure 5 I have shown another form of felting needle which requiresan additional step in its making over the needle of Figure 4. After therecess and spur have -'been formed in the body of the needle asdescribed in conjunction with Figure 4, a second die of suitableconfigure tion is caused to displace metal in the corner edge 'l8-immediately above the spur 20 so' that the working edge 22 will have itsoutermost portion ftl of arcuateconfiguration with the outer point 2-6of the spur directed downwardly and by the needle plate, sufficientlength to ade quately support the shankof the needle prevent ing lateraldisplacement thereof in the recipro-' disposed) substantially viithinthblame V 'offthe corner "edge i 8 of "the tear-1'4 bftheineedle. In thisform of the 'inveiiti'on"downward 'move- 'ment' of thenee'dlethro-ughafibrous'mass'teii'ds pm cause thefibers' tobe"fcrcedrupflthe'iworkingedge 22', to be"iifebtivelyretained by"the needlefor interlacing the-fibers;TInb'othforms of '-the -'need1es hereindisclosed. fit"fvvill" be seen that the endT'WalI Df 'th i'ecess is'defineWbYfa. ila broad-surface 2r extending at 'an 'angie' or 10substantially 'to' *the'*side"walls' offthe n'e'dle. *he bottom portion0f the recessfi deflndby a triangularly shaped 'surface 'ils extending"downwardly and angularly to acorherfedgeffrdm "the -bottomofthesurfaceil. It a will thus observed that'jby"imean of the presentinvention" Ihaveprovidd" a feltingn'eedle havinga-"'spur'ivlii'cl1comprises a "jwor'k'ingedge whi h 'befdisposeo eitherat""'substantial1y on of the ing edge'may beof 'ar'cuate congurationwith the outer'point" thereof disposed \larclly of the corner edgeandeir'tending'd'ownardlyof the needle.

ig-ure 6 I: have shown diagrammatically- 35 one fo-rmor pa-ratnsforformingispurg of the character described in conjunction with Figures4 cl 5, -it-wi11lessees-thatitrcom rises ofstar stockfiil,'Zpr'ferably'of square con-.. ura-tien; ashereiiibeforereferred to, which 3i) 7is'aolapted to be fed through?a"stiaightener 32, through 'a series ofmale and "fe'male"die block embIiesSS'; which arefarrangd" successivelyhtangles toeach othertanjdhperate to form a recess aid spvr in. "the"corner "edges of the metal stock adjacent which theyare positioned. "inthe embodiment shown in Figure 6 "the stock is of *sqnare configurationand consequently; 'feiir -pairs -ii die blocks-areprovided,'onefliainfor each corner-edge. A. 'Wi1'e'Jf'e'etling 'm'echa'is'm,

1 ateti diagrammatically" at 35, is lope fable 5 waiving a" length ofwire substantially equal to the length-ofstcck required'to' pliitiuceasingle is provided fI' lting 'neetile, and; a blade "33 The length -or"stock. betWeen. the Qhtener-end the feecler isi'of'alerigth' to .e'four needlesgandsince the pairs of the s are arranged, progressivelyIatfaiiizles t"Wi1l'-be.-s'een ach'zoair er die blocks33,lwn'enactuated, a recess" and spur of the charactenfir's't l. deach in oneoornene'dgeso that in the stock JSpOSECl between the die'block nearestthe feeder is having a fourth recess and spurw-procluccd in it,'an'olthe next"adjacefit,portion of hving third recess arid spur formede portion; of stockia'hea'd" of it is having nd the .-porwith respect toeach other nreees and spurfor'med,"

of tool: disposedadjacent'thefirst'pair'of to 2 blocks having a firstrecess and spur formed. all of the pairs of'die 'blo'eks' fifia'recaused to actuated 'siniultaneouslyso thatithe stock in the-pairof dieblocks nearestthe I feeder will cc of stock and "when advanced by thefeeder is out, from theremainierof the Stock 1 the blade Thisseveredportion isthen pointed and r ovided *vvih asecuring element asdescribed conjunction with Figure '2 forming a com- 70 pletecl needle.It will beunderstood that greater 'ewer numbers of spurs may be formedin any single particular length of needle stock by providing fewer orgreater number of pairs f die blocks 33 to provide a needle having thede- 75 "log the fe progressivelysuc tl'ie'pi'eferred forms 3inventionfand the aiipa'ratus and method for "forming these right-angleto t e 'ccrner'eclge, for thei'out'erpor 202' s Without" d'ep iiiyinvention.

protrusions a utting the continuous stripof stock into needle 4 'rialnvaging 2; {till of recess.

etethe spurs tobe formed in that portion a3 that a needle of squarecross-section having one spurfc'rmd'ineach oorner'efige 'Will beefiicient in operation.

, Theappar'atus is readily ad ebtable for-tormlting needle of" Figure 5by. providing 'ionalp'airsiof die blocks'liS also positioned o ssiv'elyat right angles to each other in the clir'e'cticn' of travel of thestock, one pair each being arranged aitereach set of die blocks The dieblocks 38 may, like the die blocks 33, be operated simultaneouslyfordisplacing metal the corner edges definingthe spurs to form the spurshown in Figure 5.

While I have shown What I consider to be of the felting needles of my's' urs' in the body of the needle, it "will be understood that variousrearrange ns and modifications. maybe niadetherein a from "the spiritand scope of rtirig Iclaim: the an ai'ticle of manufacture, a feltingneedle ccniprisinge body havin unrecessed .ydirected-spuiy-said hotlyhaving protruad3acenteits recessed portion the crossof saidrecessed-portion and'said being substantially equalto the crossbrot usiosectional body,

As an article of manufacture, ielting V needle comprisng abody(if-polygonal crosssection having an. uni'ec videcl in at le portiondefi lying withinfs'aid essed. portion anclprot one cornerecige with arecessed s a downwardly directed spur corner eclgevsaid body havingcljaoent its recessed portion the cross sectional area through saidrecessed portion and said protrusions being s ubstantia1ly (equ l to thecross-sectionai portion cf-sai dbodv new article. of in neecl'ie icor va body cess thei t 1d a spur area of" said unreilfactu e; a feltingovicled with-a re- :ge formed by dcwnwar di ectecl intersectingextending 11y or the needleaov-jaor" recess. l 4.13s a new article ofmanufacture, aielting form -Sect-ion nrcvielecl in-at least;one s, and aspurhaving a a edge in said cerncr and anguierl'y diand ;lateralsurface,

i ngle'ni er erge "m en. by 5 extending" substantially iee-eljacent theupper end 5. 'As a iew artic "on and a recessed portion-defining axdowm'ofsaid unre-Jessed portion of said tvinga single- ;rnate- 7 lateralsurfaces; said'mate' le manufacture, a felting least one corner edgewith a recess formed by "displacing material thereat to define a.downwardly directed spur having a working edge ex tending inwardly ofthe body of the needle with- :in the corner edge thereof and above therecess, "the displaced material forming protrusions in the side wallsdefining said corner edge adjacent the recess so that thecross-sectional area of the needle through said recess is substantiallyequal to the polygonal cross-sectional area of the body.

'7. As a new article of manufacture, a felting needle having a body ofsubstantially uniform polygonal cross-section provided in at least onecorner edge withv a downwardly directed spur, said spur being defined bya pair of substantially triangular surfaces one in each side wall of theneedle forming said corner edge, each of said triangular surfaces havingone'edge lying in the surface of its respective side wall and extendingdownwardly and outwardly toward said corner edge, and a second edgediverging downwardly away from said first edge, the bases of saidtriangular surfaces intersecting to define a working edge extendinginwardly of the body of the needle from said corner edge.

8. As a new article of manufacture, a felting needle having a body ofsubstantialy uniform polygonal cross-section provided in at least onecorner edge with a recess formed by displacing material and formingreinforcing integral protrusions in the adjacent side walls, a spur saidcorner edge defined by a pair of substantially triangular surfaces eachhaving one edge lying in the side walls defining said corner edge'andextending downwardly and outwardly toward the same, and a second edgediverging away from said first edge, the bases of said triangularsurfaces intersecting to define a working edge extending inwardly of thebody of the needle from said corner edge.

9. As a new article of manufacture, a felting needle having a body ofsubstantially uniform polygonal cross-section provided in at least onecorner edge with a recess formed by displacing.

material and forming reinforcing integral protrusions in the adjacentside walls so that the transverse cross-sectional area through saidrecess is substantially equal to the polygonal crosssectional area ofthe body, a spur in said corner edge defined by a pair of substantiallytriangular surfaces each having one edge lying in the side wallsdefining said corner edge and extending downwardly and outwardly towardthe same, and a second edge diverging away from said first edge, thebases of said triangular surfaces intersecting to define a working edgeextending inwardly of the body of the needle from said corner edge.

10. As a new article of manufacture, a felting needle having a body ofsubstantially uniform same, and a second edge diverging away from saidfirst edge, the bases of said triangular surtrusions in the adjacentside walls, a spur in said corner edge defined by a pair ofsubstantially triangular surfaces each having one edge lying in the sidewalls defining said corner edge and extending downwardly and outwardlytoward the same, and a second edge diverging away from said first edge,the bases of said triangular surface intersecting to define asubstantially straight line working edge extending inwardly of the bodyof the needle substantially at rightangles to said corner edge. 1

12. In combination, a needle plate, a sleeve of f circular cross-sectionextending through said needle plate and supported at one end therein,and a felting needle of substantially uniform polygonal cross-sectionthroughout its length extending through said sleeve and having thecorner edges of its shank portion engaging the inner wall of said sleeveto restrain said needle against lateral movement. a

13 In combination, a needle plate, a sleeve extending through saidneedle plate and supported at one end therein, and a felting needle ofsubstantially uniform cross-section throughout its length extendingthrough said sleeve, said sleeve and said felting needle being formed sothat the shank portion of the latter is restrained by the sleeve againstlateral movement.

14:. As a new article of manufacture, a felting needle comprising a bodyportion and a spur having a single material engaging edge at its lowerend formed between lateral surfaces of the spur.

15. As a new article of manufacture, a feltingneedle comprising a bodyportion and a spur having a single straight line material engaging edgeat its lower end formed between lateral surfaces of the spur.

circular cross-section extending through said needle plate and supportedat one end therein, and a felting needle extending through said sleeveand being formed so that its shank portion engages the inner wall of thesleeve to restrain the needle against lateral movement.

EDSON P. FOSTER.

